Contents

Family

Arroyo’s family roots can be traced back to his great grandparents Ignacio Arroyo and Doña Maria Pidal, whose three famed children, Maria Beatriz Del Rosario Arroyo, Jose Maria Arroyo and Mariano Arroyo, were all candidates for sainthood. Jose and Mariano both entered the political arena serving as senator in 1919 and governor of Iloilo in 1928 respectively. Jose Maria Arroyo, Mike’s grandfather, married Jesusa Aranet-Lacson with whom he had seven children, among them Ignacio Arroyo, who later married Lourdes Zaragoza Tuason. This marriage produced Mike and his sibling, Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo, who is representative of Negros Occidental's fifth district.

Mike and his wife Gloria have three children: Mikey, Luli, and Dato. Mikey and Dato are currently elected officials as well: Mikey is the representative of Pampanga's second district while Dato is a representative in Camarines Sur. Mike’s only daughter, Luli, married the prominent investment banker and businessman Luigi Bernas in November 2008.

Profession, Projects, and Titles

Mike Arroyo is a lawyer by profession. While First Gentleman of the Philippines, Arroyo provided funding and training for all Philippine athletes, allowing them to compete in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games hosted by the Philippines.

In December 2002, the President appointed her husband as an OFW envoy, putting him in charge of representing the President in foreign countries where she could not visit or travel to due to more pressing national agendas. Alleged controversies regarding the funding of his position shortened his stint.

Health

Over the last 3 years, Arroyo’s health has deteriorated. However, he has been able to survive due to cardiac treatment and surgery. In April 2007, Mike underwent critical open heart surgery to treat a diagnosed condition he had been suffering as of late called aortic aneurysm.

On 25 March 2010, Arroyo was rushed to the hospital due to back pains. According to his physician, the pains were complications related to his 2007 heart surgery. He was later discharged on 7 April 2010 and was scheduled to undergo further cardiac rehabilitation.

Controversies

As First Gentleman, Arroyo has faced countless major controversies aimed at destabilizing and destroying the reputation of his wife and her administration. Although none of the accusations and controversies have been proven to as yet, there have been many of them and all were investigated in the Senate by members of the political opposition.

In July 2001, Arroyo was accused of receiving a 50 million peso bribe for the President to recall her veto on the Franchise bills of the Philippine Communications Clearinghouse and APC Wireless Network. The accuser and supposed witness, Veronica Rodrigo, later recanted her statement.

In October 2001, Mike was accused of using Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) funds to bribe media outfits to benefit the campaigns of certain Senatorial candidates. The PCSO publicly denied these allegations.

In 2003, an expose started by Senator Ping Lacson, a known enemy of the Arroyos, was divulged to the public regarding a secret bank account under the name of Jose Pidal. Lacson claimed that the bank account was owned by the First Gentleman using the said alias. The funds in the account were supposedly laundered money from campaign contributions during his wife’s bid for the Presidency. Iggy Arroyo intervened and claimed to be Jose Pidal to save Mike.

In 2006, another controversy rocked the Department of Agriculture when former undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante, a known ally and friend of Mike Arroyo, supposedly diverted funds to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's presidential campaign in 2004. The senate investigated and finished the hearing with no real conclusions linking Mike Arroyo to Bolante.